Campfire Light
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, day six hundred and nineteen: Mike's family is going away on vacation for the weekend, and they offer to bring Tina along.


_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 29th cycle. Now cycle 30!_

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><p><strong>Hear that little bird twitter!<strong> _Been thinking about doing this for a couple days, then this morning decided to just go for it. If you go there, find 'gleekathon' and there I'll be. There's also a video explaining everything... Yep... ;) Check it out!_

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><p><strong>"Campfire Light"<br>15/14yo Mike/Tina  
>Chang Squared #10 (sequel to "Fifteen Candles") <strong>

Tina stopped in her tracks when she thought she'd heard her name and, when she turned, she found she hadn't imagined it. She spotted Mike running toward her from up the street. She laughed, seeing him sidestep a dog on a leash and almost falling when the dog barked at him. He looked spooked for a second, but then he saw her again and he was back on track. As he caught up, he threw his arm around her shoulders, catching his breath as he'd slowed to a walk.

"Hey! What's going on?" she asked, sensing he had something to say.

"My parents finally decided on where they want to go, weekend after next. They're taking me and my brother camping."

"Really? I didn't picture your parents as the camping type."

"Oh, yeah, it's going to be tragic," he smirked, which made her laugh. "Want to come?" he went on, catching her off guard.

"What?"

"Well, I sort of suggested it off hand, didn't think anything would come of it, but then… they said yes, that if you wanted to come with us, that it'd be okay," he explained.

"Camping…"

"I know you're no good with bugs, but it could be fun," he was hoping to sell her on it, and she could tell. She considered the offer for a moment, then gave an unsure nod. "I'll convince you, I promise," he gave her shoulder a squeeze.

On Friday the week after, they both went home after school to finish packing. Then the Changs packed up their car, went to pick up Tina, and they were off. Mike and Tina spent the whole ride playing games with Mike's little brother. Joey sat in the middle, so he'd alternate partners; he had quickly taken to his brother's girlfriend.

They arrived at the camping site, where the tents would be assembled. Tina was made to stay with the Changs while Mike and Joey shared a tent. They weren't sure what Mike's parents expected to happen, but this settled things. They took Joey and went to swim in the lake until dinner. Afterward, the night came and everyone packed into their tents to sleep, the better to be good and rested for the next day. Tina's sleeping bag was across from Mike's parents', and she found herself compromising with circumstances by turning over and closing her eyes. She had this fear like they'd start talking to her or, the way she saw it, like they'd start asking her questions about herself… or her relationship with Mike. She didn't want to seem rude, so feigning sleep was the best option she had. Except then she wasn't sure if they were sleeping yet, and this kept her awake, thinking she might turn and find one or both of them staring at her.

"Tina?" a whispered voice startled her… She winced; now they'd know… But it wasn't the Changs. "Tina, are you awake?" She turned on her back and craned her neck to look at the opening in the tent. Mike's face peered back at her through the slit in the fabric. He smiled when he saw her staring back; she did, too. "Hey…" he whispered.

"What are you doing?" she whispered back.

"Come on," he waved her out. She hesitated, turning her eyes sideways and pointing at his parents. "They're asleep, come on," he told her. That did it. She pulled herself out of her sleeping back, grabbing her vest and her shoes on the way out.

"I thought your dad put out the fire," she noticed it burning nearby.

"He did," Mike confirmed, then smiled at her.

"You're amazing," she couldn't help beaming. They sat side by side in front of the flames and she laid her head on his shoulder. "Do you think they meant what they said about going out early to go fishing?" she asked, staring back up at him.

"Not going to happen, I'm sure. My father always has these plans for things in the morning and then he just never gets around to it, ends up working on his boats…"

"His what?" she frowned, but he just waved it off as thought to say 'long story, never mind.'

"So tomorrow morning, he'll probably wake up, get distracted thinking there's something wrong with the tent or some other thing like that. Then my mother will get impatient and start thinking about what she'll do for lunch, and then when she finally figures out he won't get around to the fishing trip, then she'll just make that lunch, and we'll just go fishing later," he recited as he worked out the scenario.

"Good, so we can stay here then," she grinned.

"We can," he agreed, reaching for a blanket to put over their legs.

"I'm really glad you convinced me to come," she told him.

"So am I. And so what if there are b…" He didn't get to finish his word, as her hand shot out to cover his mouth. He looked down at her.

"Don't say the B word, you'll ruin it," she instructed, holding a beat before letting her hand drop.

"Sorry, I forgot," he couldn't hide his smirk, his face lit up by the fire. "Just forget about… those… Look," he pointed to the sky. She turned her eyes up, then smiled.

"They're so bright here," she looked to the stars.

"I know. That's why I came to get you out of your tent," he revealed.

"Really? I thought it was to get close up like this," she teased.

"Well, that's just bonus," he looked at her, kissing the side of her head.

"What if we fall asleep, and the fire goes out of control and we just burn up?"

"It'll be a nice way to go," he shrugged, and she laughed. "I won't let you burn though, promise," he told her. "If you fall asleep, I'll keep an eye out for any rogue flames."

"Such a gentleman," she spoke dramatically.

"That's me."

In the morning, they were woken up by Joey. They looked around to realize they had indeed fallen asleep in front of the fire, which didn't burn them and only burned itself out. They looked around and saw the Changs weren't up yet. "We should probably…" Tina pointed to the two tents.

"Go, go, go," Mike whispered. She moved to go, but then had a thought and turned back to Mike to give him a quick kiss before sneaking into her tent. The Changs were sleeping, and she was careful to keep it that way as she got into her sleeping bag.

When everyone was up, Mike and Tina reunited, keeping an eye on the parents, to see the events that Mike had described to Tina the night before. Only it didn't happen; a half hour later, they were on their way to the fishing boat.

"What happened?" Tina whispered to Mike as they walked. She noticed he was walking with his back very straight, but she didn't need to ask him why…

"Yeah, I think we were busted…" Her back straightened up a bit here as well, but then she smirked, thinking of the night before, and what he'd told her, in the event they were taken by the fire.

"Well, it'll be a nice way to go."

THE END

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><p><strong>AN: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.  
><strong>**In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are  
><strong>******always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!******


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